According to Americans for Safe Access’ Don Duncan, a voter referendum from The Committee to Protect Patients and Neighborhoods (CPPN) and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) would establish regulations for medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives. “The The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Control Act” would limit the number of facilities in the city, keep them away from sensitive land uses, and limit their hours of operation.

California voters approved medical cannabis in 1996 and codified collectives in 2003. Faced with a rash of storefronts, the Los Angeles City Council attempted to regulate the number of clubs to 100 in 2010. That ordinance collapsed under a siege of lawsuits, and this year the Council tried to ban medical pot storefronts altogether. Medical marijuana interests quickly raised the necessary signatures to halt the ban this summer.

The new L.A. pot club regulation referendum will serve as a backstop if the City Council fails to properly regulate clubs, Duncan wrote.

The question of what constitutes ‘properly’ is subject to wide dispute. A number of California cities including San Francisco, West Hollywood, Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond have successfully regulated and taxed clubs. Conversely, officials in Los Angeles have stated that they believe that all sales conducted at dispensaries are illegal.

About Smell the Truth

Smell the Truth, syndicated for distribution by TruMedia, is the recognized leading voice of the fast growing cannabis media space - giving advertisers, entrepreneurs, grassroots organizers and innovators access to a targeted network of cannabis users and advocates.